Browsing: Emile Francis

Emile Francis and the Metropolitan Hockey League By George Grimm On Dec. 17, 2015 Emile Francis was presented with the Wayne Gretzky International Award at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Boston. The award, which was established by the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, is…

Reminiscing with Sal Messina By George Grimm In 1973 Sal Messina became the color analyst on Rangers radio broadcasts working with play-by-play man Marv Albert. It was the natural progression for the Queens native who had been involved in hockey and the Blueshirts for most of his life. Sal grew…

Here today is the first of several guest blog posts from our always-popular volunteer contributor George Grimm, who is writing a book on Emile Francis. It’s August and we still have two months to go before the NHL season (though we will have World Cup hockey in September this year).…

Alain Vigneault just spoke to the media in Pittsburgh. Said he has a game-time decision to make on defense. Sounds like the same group of forwards, which means Oscar Lindberg stays in, and Kevin Hayes remains scratched. On defense, the obvious options would be for Raphael Diaz or Dylan McIlrath…

I’m going on the FAN radio in Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. You can listen online at 937thefan.com. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said he’s pondering some lineup changes at forward and on defense for Game 4, which likely means Oscar Lindberg’s speed goes in for Kevin Hayes, and Eric Staal moves to…

Ryan McDonagh skated with the extras this morning, and will have his injured right hand examined by a doctor this afternoon. If he gets the OK, he could play tonight. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said that if McDonagh does not play, he still hasn’t decided whether to use Dylan McIlrath…

We should have word on Henrik Lundqvist when Alain Vigneault meets the media in Pittsburgh around 1:10. Stay tuned to the widget on the right for news as it breaks. Also, according to the AHL website, the Rangers have not recalled anybody (Raphael Diaz) today. So we’re assuming Dylan McIlrath…

[polldaddy poll=9355858 align=”left”] Game 73. Panthers at Rangers. As Alain Vigneault might say, as he has a few times in his tenure, it’s a Big Boy Pants game for the Rangers against the paper Panthers. They come home with their tails between their legs having blown a 3-1 third-period…

Remembering Marcel Paille By George Grimm Like many netminders of the pre-expansion era, Marcel Paille had the great misfortune of trying to break into the NHL during what many consider to be the Golden Age of Goaltending. Those were the days of the Original Six, when each team carried only…

Reminiscing with Jack Egers By George Grimm Armed with a slapshot that earned him the nickname “Smokey” because it was said he could “knock the sap out of the wood of his stick”, Jack Egers was destined for stardom. Unfortunately a series of injuries including a concussion hampered and ultimately…

Reminiscing with Orland Kurtenbach By George Grimm Orland Kurtenbach was a big, burly center who supplied grit, muscle and protection for his teammates during the early years of the Emile Francis era. Born on Sept. 7, 1936 in Cudworth, Saskatchewan, Kurt began his hockey journey with the Prince Albert Mintos…

Reminiscing with Billy Fairbairn By George Grimm “Everybody liked Billy Fairbairn. Billy Fairbairn was quiet. He hit, he worked hard, he took his hits and he played up and down that wall. And you could trust him every step of the way. You knew what he was gonna do, and…

Pre-game notes courtesy of the Rangers: NEW YORK RANGERS at PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2015, 7:00 p.m. ET CONSOL Energy Center – Pittsburgh, PA Rangers: 2-1 Penguins: 1-2 TONIGHT’S GAME The Rangers play Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy…

Making The Case For Retiring Rangers Numbers A Guest Blog by Tom DeAngelo First, I’d like to thank Carp for the opportunity to guest blog on a topic for which I have great passion: adding Blueshirt numbers to the World’s Most Famous Ceiling. As I “celebrate” my 50th season as…

Thoughts: 1) The Rangers weren’t God-awful, just awful enough to lose. They sure have played worse games than this one, but this was their worst in the last six, since that Islanders game at the Garden before the Stadium Series and the competitive loss to St. Louis. And that was…

(Editor’s note: Special thanks for another terrific guest blog from our friend George Grimm. If any of you guys want to volunteer to do a guest blog, this is a really good time of year to do one … training camp is still a month away. If you’re interested, drop…

Outside of Rod Gilbert, there aren’t many people who have been continuously around the Rangers longer than me and Sam Rosen. One of the few is Bobby Lewis, whom you very likely don’t know, except that he was a major reason MSG Network’s Rangers coverage was the industry standard for…

Congratulations go out to Joseph Ruggiero of Pelham, who on Tuesday night was named the winner of the annual Emile Francis Award for “tireless efforts, sacrifices, dedication and service to youth hockey.” Ruggiero was presented the award on the ice at Madison Square Garden by native New Yorkers and former…